The difference came from the help afforded the two stars, as Leron Black’s 13 points were the only notable scoring effort from the Illini. Wisconsin got a huge night from both Brad Davison (14 points) and Brevin Prtizl (15).

It was a huge night for the much-maligned junior guard, as Pritzl was replaced in the starting lineup two games ago and came off the bench to respond in a big way. He scored his 15 points in nearly perfect fashion, hitting 3 of 3 from deep and 3 of 4 from the field overall. Pritzl also hit all six of his free throws and grabbed six rebounds.

The win is Wisconsin’s 13th straight in the all-time series between these two teams and snaps a five-game losing streak.

While the score was close for most of the night, the Badgers did something it hasn’t most of this season — rise to the occasion when challenged. UW managed to hold a lead for 28:09 of the game compared to just 3:44 for Illinois. For once, it wasn’t the Badgers crumbling under the pressure of a close affair.

Happ led the way for a team that also shot 53.2 percent from the field, going 12 of 20 from the field. UW was equally good beyond the arc, hitting 8 of 15 shots from deep and also were a much more respectable 74.1 percent from the free throw line in the win.

Frazier was huge for the Illini, but the Badgers did a great job of shutting down anyone else from getting comfortable.

Wisconsin moved to 4-9 in Big Ten play and helped keep a one-game margin towards earning a bye in the Big Ten tournament just a few weeks away.

With Michigan and Purdue coming up in the next two games at the Kohl Center, this win was badly needed for UW’s confidence.

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Andy Coppens is the Founder and Publisher of Talking10. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and has been covering college sports in some capacity since 2008. You can follow him on Twitter @AndyOnFootball